Part of the Appeal of McDonald’s Milkshakes Is That They Mimic Breastfeeding

Do you find that sucking down a McDonald’s milkshake can bring back a flood of wonderful childhood memories? Turns out the association may go deeper than simply recalling mommy treating you to a shake when she wanted to shut you up. It could go back to a time you don’t even fully remember.

According to RocketNews24, Japan has seen a recent influx of interest around the psychological underpinnings of the McDonald’s straw. A couple of days ago, a tweet went viral that claimed the fast food chain designed their straws (in Japan, at least) so that, when drinking a shake, the speed at which it’s consumed is the same as when a baby is breastfeeding.

Apparently, this suggestion is more than mere rumor. In his book Den Fujita’s Business Strategies 2: Overwhelming Business Strategies, McDonald’s Japan founder Den Fujita wrote, “When humans drink something, the speed that produces the most delicious feeling is the speed at which babies nurse…McDonald’s straws are designed so that when used with a shake, the speed will be the same as that of an infant drinking breast milk.”

Of course, though a quote from Den Fujita is more official than a random tweet from some guy with almost no followers, for now, at least, McDonald’s Japan seems to be mum on the subject, meaning the extent to which all this speculation is true is a bit up in the air.

Still, it’s an interesting concept. And a gross concept. I think I’ll pass on McDonald’s milkshakes for the time being. Actually, maybe it’s time to just start eating all shakes with a spoon.